Evacuees Out of Libya Reach Rome

By

WSJ Staff

Feb 21, 2011 6:18 pm ET

European countries sent planes and ferries to Libya on Monday to evacuate their citizens, and some oil and gas companies pulled their foreign staff out and suspended operations, as anti-government protests spread to Tripoli for the first time.

Passengers returning Monday night to Rome aboard an Alitalia aircraft from Tripoli said they had heard gunfire through the night in the Libyan capital, but an eerie silence had blanketed the city as they drove to the airport in the morning.